The present invention relates to a display module, such as a liquid crystal module, in which a member (a sloped back surface member), such as a light guide plate of a backlight, having a sloped back surface is provided face to face behind a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel, a slope of the sloped back surface member being caused by a thickness difference between both ends thereof, and in which a flexible substrate for a signal line drive circuit and a flexible substrate for a scanning line drive circuit are respectively so extended as to reach to a back surface of the sloped back member, where the flexible substrate for the signal line drive circuit and the flexible substrate for the scanning line drive circuit are connected to the display panel so as to make a right angle with each other.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Tokukaihei No. 7-43709 (Publication date: Feb. 14, 1995), for example, discloses a liquid crystal module of a conventional TCP (Tape Carrier Package) mounting method.
In a liquid crystal module 50 of this kind, as shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b), a liquid crystal panel 51 is connected with source TCPs 52 and gate TCPs 53 aligned along an edge of a flat, rectangular shape of the crystal panel 51, and each extension tip of the source TCPs 52 is connected with a source PWB (Printed Wiring Board) 54 while each extension tip of the gate TCPs 53 is connected with a gate PWB 55.
The source TCPs 52 and the gate TCPs 53 are bent at substantial 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 9(a), along two folding lines 61 and two folding lines 62 shown in FIG. 10, in such a manner that a backlight 56 and other members are wrapped. At this point, all of the source TCPs 52 and the gate TCPs 53, which are consecutively aligned, are bent at identical points so as to be parallel to a rectangular parallelopiped outer shape of the liquid crystal module 50.
Note that, the source TCP 52 and the gate TCP 53 are composed of a substrate of approximately 75 xcexcm thickness (not shown), a Cu (copper) foil pattern being adhered to the substrate by using adhesive, and an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip connected to the Cu (copper) foil pattern. Since the source TCP 52 and the gate TCP 53 cannot be bent easily due to bending repulsion and the like caused by the approximately 75 xcexcm thickness of the substrate, the source TCP 52 and the gate TCP 53 are bent in circular arc at the bending parts.
Most of the display modules with a backlight unit include a light guide plate 57 on the back of the liquid crystal panel 51, and a backlight 56 being composed of a lamp in a vicinity of one edge of the light guide plate 57. The light guide plate 57 is thickest at the edge near the lamp and becomes thinner toward an edge of the opposite side, so that all over the liquid crystal panel 51 is entirely subjected to light from the back light 56.
In the conventional display module, however, as the gate TCPs 53 are all folded at the identical points so as to be parallel to the rectangular parallelopiped outer shape of the liquid crystal module, the gate TCPs 53 have to be bent at the thickest part of the light guide plate 57. As a result, the completed liquid crystal module 50 has a dead space at the opposite side of the backlight 56. In addition, because of the bending repulsion of the substrate thickness, the gate TCP 53 can be bent in circular arc, but cannot be bent sharply; that is, the gate TCP 53 cannot be bent in a large curvature. On the other hand, when the gate TCP 53 is bent loosely in a small curvature, the gate TCP 53 is largely protruded from side edge of the liquid crystal panel.
As a result, there has been a problem that the liquid crystal module 50 can not be thinner in spite of its dead space.
In view of the conventional problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a display module which can be thinner by eliminating a dead space.
To accomplish the above-mentioned object, a display module of the present invention, such as a liquid crystal module, in which a sloped back surface member, such as a light guide plate, having a cross sectional slope with respect to a display surface of a display panel, is provided face to face behind the display panel, and a flexible substrate for a signal line drive circuit and a flexible substrate for a scanning line drive circuit are connected to the display panel so as to make a right angle with each other, and are respectively so extended as to reach to a back surface of the sloped back surface member, wherein the one of the flexible substrate for the signal line drive circuit and the flexible substrate for the scanning line drive circuit is so extended as to reach to the back surface of the sloped back surface member in such a manner that the one of the flexible substrate for the signal line drive circuit and the flexible substrate for the scanning line drive circuit is bent along the slope of the sloped back surface member.
In the display module of the invention such as the liquid crystal module, the flexible substrate for the signal line drive circuit and the flexible substrate for the scanning line drive circuit, which are connected to the display panel so as to make a right angle with each other, are respectively so extended as to reach to the back surface of the sloped back surface member such as the light guide plate, for example.
Conventionally, even with the sloped back surface member such as the light guide plate having the sloped back surface, the liquid crystal module has a dead space, because the flexible substrate for the signal line drive circuit and the flexible substrate for the scanning line drive circuit are bent at substantial 90 degrees along a rectangular parallelopiped shape of the liquid crystal module in their extending directions. As a result, there has been a problem that the display module cannot be thinner.
In the present invention, however, one of the flexible substrate for the signal line drive circuit and the flexible substrate for the scanning line drive circuit is bent along the slope of the sloped back surface member. For this reason, a folding line is in an oblique direction. As a result, it is possible to bend, along the slope of the sloped back surface member, one of the flexible substrate for the signal line drive circuit and the flexible substrate for the scanning line drive circuit that is in a direction parallel to the slope of the sloped back surface member. This enables the display module to eliminate the dead space.
Accordingly, it is possible to provide the display module which can be thinner by eliminating a dead space.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the ensuing detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.